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Two Car Bombs Explode, Killing 16 in Iraq
BAQOUBA, Iraq - Two car bombs, one of them
driven by a suicide attacker, exploded Saturday at police stations in a
pair of towns near Baghdad, killing at least 16 people, most of them
policemen, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.
The first blast occurred in Baqouba, about 35 miles northeast of
Baghdad. Minutes later, a suicide driver blew up his car at the gate of
the police station in Khan Bani Saad, a crowded market town about 12 miles
south of Baqouba on the road to Baghdad.
Lt. Hussein Hazem said six officers died in the Baqouba explosion,
which left a large hole at the entrance to the building. He said at least
10 civilians were hurt.
Capt. Ryan McCormick of the 4th Infantry Division said the explosion in
Khan Bani Saad killed six policemen and three civilians apart from the
suicide driver. Iraqi police said one of the dead was a 5-year-old girl.
Ten people were wounded, McCormick said.
McCormick said a police guard fired on the approaching vehicle but
could not prevent the blast. He said there were no U.S. or other coalition
casualties.
There have been five vehicle bombings in Iraq (news
- web
sites) since Wednesday, mostly targeting Iraqis who support the
coalition.
A bomb Wednesday night exploded at the home of a pro-U.S. sheik in
Ramadi. On Thursday, a blast occurred at the offices of a U.S.-allied
Kurdish political party in Kirkuk. Late Friday, a truck blew up near the
office of a British de-mining company in Irbil.
Khan Bani Saad and Baqouba are part of the so-called "Sunni Triangle"
north and west of the capital that has seen fierce resistance to the
U.S.-led occupation.
At the 4th Infantry Division headquarters in Tikrit, Lt. Col. Steven
Russell said U.S. troops have been warned to expect more bombings at the
end of the Muslim holy month Ramadan early next week.
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